winter, with the moon high above and the chimes in the steeple ringing and a sonorous choir of trombones rendering a Christmas -caarol; and over all is a quiteness and an ache as though all the world were lonliness. (pg.35)"…
Faye Moskowitz writes about a traditional Jewish Christmas as she was taking up in Michigan in the thirties. The theme of religious tradition is reflected in this piece. She starts by saying “Jewish Christmas-that’s what my gentle friend calls Chanukah.” It indicates how as a young child she understands her religion and knows that those who are not Jewish are gentiles. Her experience of Christmas was miserable because they were the minority and everyone else celebrated it with excitement and delight.…
All can relate to that one special time of the year, Christmas, when whole families unite and spend hours endlessly sharing stories, making memories, and of course, opening presents! What happens though, when all of the sentimental value of Christmas is replaced solely with physical value, the gifts? What would Christmas be like then? Richard Rodriguez takes the readers through one of his annual Christmases and brings to light, through his thoughts, the disconnect that exists between himself, his siblings, and his parents. Rodriguez’ chronological presentation of events with flashbacks, short, abrupt syntax, light-hearted attention to detail and concerned tone contribute to suggest his worried attitude toward his family.…
In the second stanza, the personification of "Christmas paddocks, aching in the heat", imitates the personas own feelings, and the words "aching in the heart" look like aching in the heart, which is what the persona feels like, as he has lost his wife. Christmas is also usually a time for family gathering, and this highlights how change has caused the widower to lead a life of loneliness and isolation. This stanza is also filled with negative imagery and mundane activities- "The windless trees, the nettles in the yard... and then I'll go in, boil water and make tea." The ... at the end of the sentence shows that the widowers day is filled with other activities that are more or the same, again highlighting his life that has a lack of change. The lack of punctuation in this stanza also reflects the widower's monotonous life and again shows how change can bring a life of isolation and loneliness.…
Father Greg Boyle shows kinship during the holidays in Tattoos on the Heart when an orphan calls him on New Years. During their conversation, the orphan tells Father Greg he invited his friends to have dinner because, like him, they don’t have a family. Having dinner with his friends on Christmas day has a good impact on…
Robert Frost's “Acquainted with the Night” describes a life that is filled with depression caused by isolation. Many believe this could have been written from Frost's own personal experiences, since it is well known that he experienced a very sad life with the losses of many of his close relatives. This would have left him feeling alone and detached, therefore giving him the inspiration for this poem. When examining the title's literal meaning, one can see Frost’s illustration of how he is very familiar with these dark and lonely feelings that seem to come with the night. The night, and these feelings, are nothing new to him. He uses an exceptionally descriptive setting, diverse symbols, and a unique style to develop his poem. In this poem Frost uses many symbols like the rain, the watchman, and the moon to illustrate the speaker’s depression, as…
American families derive pleasure in viewing Christmas movies, and the hyperbolized plots give children and adolescents, the most influential individuals in society, unreasonable expectations, which affect their practicality. According to the website, “Problems with Christmas Curriculum,” published by Steven A. Gelb, the standard formula used to create the plot of hundreds of holiday movies, shows the same fantasized version of Christmas, which makes one’s choice of how they would want their holiday to take place, difficult. Although several individuals would like the reality of a holiday to more closely resemble the television-version, visual settings, reasons for celebrating, and the holiday’s ending make individual unrealistically expect a more romanticized version of Christmas.…
To conclude, the themes and characters of the two Christmas classics, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol”, have similarities beyond compare while still having contrasting variations of their own stories. Aspects that only one or the other possess, is what brings these stories to…
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles dickens first published by Chapman and Hall on 19 December 1843 and adapted for film in 1938. The film tells the story of bitter old miserly protagonist Ebenezer scrooge who does not give to others and is only concerned with his own money and affairs. The film tells of his transformation resulting from ghost visits by Jacob Marley and the ghosts of Christmases’ past, present and future. As the years go by, he holds true to his promise and honors Christmas with all his heart.…
It consist of family time, the true meaning of Christmas and consumerism. In 1950’s society used Television to stress the idea of Christmas shopping. For example, in the episode “A Very Merry Christmas” from The Donna Reed Show, it illustrates the consumer anxieties that people had during Christmas time. Donna feels the need to give the people around her gifts so she gives them fruit cake. Plus, her husband asks her to buy a patient a gift on Christmas day and the store is insanely crowed by women trying to buy gifts. The episode shows the social anxieties of consumerism during that time period which are similar to todays. During this time, women are highly targeted by advertisements because women do the shopping so they are the most valuable to the economy. Furthermore, society used TV shows like The Donna Reed Show to present the typical middle suburban family spending Christmas together and spreading the Christmas spirit by giving back. As a result, this episode demonstrates how society celebrated Christmas in the 1950’s and most of these traditions moved down to contemporary…
Fayden walked down the street in the early morning, sure he should have waited for someone to go with him but he wanted to be alone. He needed time to think, and come to terms with the loss of his family. He knew that his town would treat him differently now but he wouldn't leave it... That town was all Fay knew and it made the eighteen year old boy sad that he really hadn't gone anywhere in his life except to the big city a few times with his father. He slipped under the fences and over the walls as he made his way to the frozen pond. His sea green eyes looked at the layer of ice and smiled running his hand over it and then tapping it listening to hear if it would keep him up. He decided to attempt this since it had been a few weeks since the tragic…
A great work of art that has a great impact on my life is the novel A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickson. The story tells of a cold hearted, selfish business man named Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by his deceased business partner Jacob Marley and three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Jacob Marley who chained tells Scrooge that he should change his way or he will be punished in the after life. Marley beged for Scrooge to be given a chance to change. The ghost’s job is to persuade Scrooge to change his ways to avoid punishment in the afterlife. The three ghosts show Scrooge past, present, and future events that help Scrooge realize he is wrong and changes Scrooge into a better person. The story has had an impact on my life in many ways. The story taught me that a person’s behavior is a product of their past. If a person is unkind, it is the events that happened in their past that has made them who they are. It’s a reminder that showing compassion toward unkind people can make them a happier. The story has also taught me to treat people with kindness and respect. Lastly the story has taught me to always help the less fortunate because a little kindness can change a person's life.…
On the other hand George Longarrow in “A Bedtime Story”, tells a story to his grandchildren on the spirit of Christmas. George believes that Christmas is about, “family and sharing”. His daughter had gone out to the store to buy department store gifts for the children for Christmas but due to the incoming storm, she might miss Christmas morning with the family. George didn’t believe that that “store-bought gifts [reflected] what he felt was important at Christmas time”. The daughter thought it was important for the children to get gifts during Christmas time “but all they really wanted was for her to be with them on Christmas”.…
What would you say if someone told you that the reason for knowing what is wrong with you when you are sick, is because of the technology we have nowadays. Well that’s what I’m here to do so let’s get started. In these next few paragraphs I will be explaining some of the many things that have changed in the medical field. Now, don’t let me bore you because these technology changes are the reason for cures that people have found for diseases we never thought we would find a cure for. There have been a lot of changes that have occurred in the medical field from MRI’s and radiation to vaccinations to 3D printers to make 3D cells to show their patients.…
Sharan, the protagonist, is haunted by his fractured identity— ‘Am I an upper caste or an untouchable?' Providing rare insights on the question of identity, The Outcaste is considered a milestone in Indian literature in translation that helped publicize the Dalit cause.…